It’s raining discounts in auto market ahead of GST rollout

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If you have been thinking about driving your dream car home, it might just be the best time to do so.

Indian auto industry players, like Hyundai, Mahindra, and Ford have announced attractive offers before GST is implemented on July 1.

Hyundai is offering discounts ranging from Rs 25,000, on Elite i20, Rs 2,50,000 on Santa Fe, Rs 45,000 on Eon, Rs 62,000-73,000 on Grand i10, Rs 80,000-90,000 on Verna and Rs 25,000 on its new XCent till June 26, 2017.

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Datsun, on the other hand, is offering free insurance and reduced interest rates.

Maruti Suzuki, India’s biggest carmaker, has decided to broaden its discounts to Rs 25,000-35,000 on Alto and Swift.

Mahindra, similarly, is offering Rs 27,000 off on Scorpio, Rs 61,000 on TUV300, Rs 72,000 on KUV100 and Rs 90,000 on XUV500 till June 30.

There is a strategic reason behind these discounts, says a senior industry executive on the condition of anonymity.

"Dealers can claim 60% input tax credit on stocks lying unsold till June 30. While most companies have agreed to provide financial support to dealers during the transition, the effort is to liquidate inventory to the extent possible ahead of July 1."

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To lure customers who are waiting till GST gets implemented in the hope that prices would fall, Honda has come up with an innovative scheme.

"If vehicle prices decline post GST, the company will directly refund the difference to the consumer. The buyer is not required to pay any additional amount if price of the model purchased goes up from July. This is valid for all models till the end of this month," a dealer of Honda Cars India told ET.

Volkswagen, to lure its set of customers, is offering discounts of Rs 76,000 and Rs 1,00,000 on Polo and Vento cars booked till June 20, even if payment is deferred till June 30. Other than this, the company is also offering reduced interest rates, free insurance, road-side assistance and extended warranty for three years.

Not willing to be left behind, Nissan has come up with price benefits of up to Rs 80,000 on its popular SUV Terrano, while Micra can be claimed at Rs 25,000 discount.

Ford too is offering price benefits on Figo, Aspire and EcoSport, depending on variants.
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